Commissioned by Paul Sacher to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the chamber orchestra Basler Kammerorchester, the score is dated 7 September 1936.

The work was premiered in Basel, Switzerland, on January 21, 1937 by the chamber orchestra conducted by Sacher, and was published the same year by Universal Edition.

The ensemble also includes a piano, which, due to the hammer mechanisms inside, can also be considered a percussion instrument; the celesta player joins the pianist in some four-hands passages.

The fourth and final movement, which begins with notes on the timpani and strummed pizzicato chords on the strings, has the character of a lively folk dance.

The novel City of Night (1962) by John Rechy makes reference to Music for Strings Percussion and Celesta, a work that haunts the main character.

Much of the music from this collection, along with The Miraculous Mandarin, can be heard as underscore for two Doctor Who stories: 1967's "The Enemy of the World" and 1968's "The Web of Fear".